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"A founder of the great American tradition of realism, Howells wrote honestly and vividly of moral choices. His famous novel tells of a man struggling with changing ways of life in the years when New York City grew from sprawling town to teeming metropolis. Novelist, literary critic, journalist, William Dean Howells dominated the American litera... more »ry scene from 1870 until well past the turn of the century. In defiance of the Victorian tradition of his times, he championed realism and in his writing examined and criticized established social and economic conventions. Yet in his function as critic, he never once allowed personal preference to dull his sensitivity to many different kinds of talent. A Hazard of New Fortunes is his most famous novel."« less